Drugs: 12 arrests in three regions, confiscation of 200 thousand euros of assets

(ANSA) – BARI, JUL 13 – The financial police of Bari carried out a precautionary custody order in Puglia, Basilicata and Sicily against 12 people, 3 in prison and 9 under house arrest, as part of a coordinated investigation by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Bari on an alleged criminal association aimed at illicit drug trafficking. At the same time as the arrests, the military carried out a preventive seizure decree of assets worth over 200 thousand euros.

It would have been “a host of unsuspected young people, students and workers” to manage drug trafficking and drug dealing in the municipalities of the South East of Bari, under the direction of Davide Monti, 32 years old with precedents and a long criminal history that earned him in past the nickname ‘child with the gun’.

The investigation by the financial police of Bari, coordinated by the prosecutor of the Dda Bruna Manganelli with the adjunct Francesco Giannella, ascertained the existence, between 2017 and 2019, of an alleged criminal association dedicated to the trafficking of cocaine, marijuana and amnesia from Bari to the Municipalities of Turi (where the operational headquarters were), Conversano, Putignano, Casamassima, Rutigliano, Bitonto, Noicattaro, Gioia del Colle, Altamura. 12 people were arrested, three in prison – including Monti and a 27-year-old with a history of Turi, known as ‘McGregor’ – and another 9 under house arrest. Among the alleged members of the group there is also the 29-year-old daughter of a member of the police, accused of being one of the drug couriers. In total, the suspects are 44, almost all young people with fresh records apparently far from criminal contexts. The investigations documented the use of dedicated telephone accounts in the name of front names or alternative means of communication, such as instant messaging apps, such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Telegram and Playstation chat. Coded language was also used in conversations: “sweets” and “candy” for narcotics.

(HANDLE).

Source: Ansa

Martin

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